Captain Luiz Augusto Oliveira de Freitas

Captain Freitas joined IRI as Country Manager in February 2012 after serving a distinguished 39 years in the Brazilian Navy. In January 2024 he was promoted to Regional Director, South America. During his naval career, Captain Freitas worked in many capacities ashore and afloat including Divisional Officer, Chief of Operations, Staff-Officer, Instructor, Executive Officer, Commander and Harbor Master. His decorations include the Naval Order Merit Medal with Degree of Knight, Military Meritorious Service Medal with three gold stars, Tamandaré Merit Medal, Marine Merit Medal with two anchors, Santos-Dumont Merit Medal, Legionnaire Merit Medal, Brigadeiro Falcão Merit Medal, and numerous unit citations. In 2006, after holding a two year position as Harbor Master of Maranhão, Captain Freitas was invited to join the Directorate of Ports and Coasts (DPC/Brazilian Coast Guard), which is responsible for the Brazilian Maritime Authority. In his last assignment at DPC he worked in the Surveys, Naval Inspections and Technical Expertise Management Division as Head of the Maritime Casualty Investigation Department, representing Brazil in meetings of the Marine Accident Investigators' International Forum (MAIIF). Captain Freitas holds a degree in Naval Science from The Brazilian Naval Academy, has completed a doctorate level course in Policy, Strategy and Strategic Planning from The Brazilian War College (ESG), and a Masters level course in Naval Warfare and Strategy from The Brazilian Naval War College (EGN). He has also completed a multitude of courses in Maritime Safety Compliance at the International Maritime Safety, Security and Environment Academy (IMSSEA) in Genoa, Italy, among other fine maritime institutions around the world.